Some people have a high risk tolerance. Would you be comfortable packing a few changes of clothes into a backpack and setting out for parts unknown? I wouldn’t — but some people do just that.

Then there are those who have to plan every tiny detail. In the end, they don’t go anywhere because they’re too frightened of the unexpected.

Fortunately, most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

How can you balance the adventure/risk component of moving overseas against planning and safety?

For starters, you need to know yourself pretty well. . .

Know Your Risk Tolerance

Sometimes it’s obvious. If you thrill to jumping out of an airplane, can’t wait to try that really big bungee jump or stake your entire life savings on one card in a Texas Hold ‘Em poker game, you have a high tolerance for risk. You’d probably be comfortable with the backpack-heading out scenario, so this article’s really not for you.

Conversely, if you wouldn’t dream of stepping outside to go to the mailbox without checking the weather first and putting your extra money into a bank CD is the only “investment” you’ll consider, you’re very risk averse. This article probably isn’t for you either.

But if you’re one of the majority in between those two extremes, you need to figure out how much risk you’re willing to take, how much planning you’ll do to minimize the risk, and how much ambiguity you’re able to tolerate. What kind of expat will you be?

You can start with some personality tests. There are plenty available online — here’s a list of the more common tests. There are also tests to specifically measure risk taking. You’ll find quite a few if you Google “personality test risk taker.”

How Well Do You Plan?

Even the jumper-out-of-airplanes plans ahead to minimize risk by strapping on a parachute (or sometimes two!).

In the movie One Fine Day, Michelle Pfeiffer’s character carries a purse that seems equipped for any possible eventuality — even creating superhero costumes for the kids on the spur of the moment. “Where do you get a bag like that?” George Clooney asks her.

Easy. She’s a super-planner. I have a friend like that. Need a bandaid? Safety pin? Spare anything? She’ll have it with her. Super-planners know exactly how much they spend on everything and what their savings or investment account balance is at any moment.

At the other end of the spectrum is the person who can’t plan what route to drive to the supermarket.

If you’re going to become an expat, planning is a necessity.

Are You Comfortable with Ambiguity?

Change and ambiguity go hand in hand, and the bigger the change, the greater the uncertainty. Are you an “everything is either black or white” person, or are you comfortable with shades of gray?

Use Your Past Experience

If you’ve moved before — and most of us have — you have some personal history to help you figure out how you’ll handle an overseas move.

Your experience with any major life change can be put to good use, in fact.

Think about some of your biggest life changes. They might include

• moving
• graduation
• applying for/choosing a college
• entering the job market
• changing jobs
• overseas travel
• marriage
• having kids
• divorce
• changing careers
• going back to school as an adult

Chances are, none of those events happened by accident.

Think about how you felt before, during and after any of these life-changing events. Happy? Excited? Overwhelmed? Scared? Angry?

What did you do to tone down the excitement levels, reduce the fear or manage the overwhelm? How did you cope with the people close to you who told you that you couldn’t/shouldn’t do that?

Did you envision what your life would be like after the wedding, the graduation party, or the baby’s birth? How close was the reality? How did you handle the differences?

Use those planning and coping skills you’ve developed throughout your life to smooth your overseas move.

We’ll be talking more about this over the coming weeks and months.

How do you plan in order to minimize the risk of a big change? Share your strategies in the comments section below.

I can’t help but draw comparisons between this place and the place I left early yesterday morning, Panama City.

Granada, Nicaragua, from where I write, and Panama City, Panama, couldn’t be more different, and I’ve been trying to put my finger on, exactly, why that is. Finally, the gentleman who was kind enough to collect me in Managua last night and deliver me to my host here in Granada for these two nights articulated the difference for me.

“Panama City is booming,” I was explaining after he’d asked how I was enjoying life in my recently adopted hometown.

“There’s so much energy and activity…so many people and so much money flowing through that place right now, thanks, largely, to the Panama Canal expansion work, which began this year.

“Panama City is in your face. Downtown is noisy, dirty, frenzied, and completely alive. This is an exciting time in the history of Panama, and I’m enjoying the chance to witness it from the inside.

“Nicaragua, on the other hand,” I began…

“Is swinging contentedly in its hammock,” my new friend completed the thought for me.
And he got it just right. While Panama is busy remaking itself, retooling for a decade of further and continued growth, development, and expansion…Nicaragua is happy to sit back and enjoy the sunshine.

There are no big road works projects under way in Nicaragua right now…though, certainly, some of the roads could use improving.

And the Nicaraguans you pass as you travel around their country…they’re herding their cattle, tending their sugar cane, rocking slowly in their big wicker chairs…

They seem in no hurry to get anywhere or to do anything in particular, and, watching them, you begin to wonder why you are.

The price of oil…the price of gold…the dollar/euro exchange rate…the closing figure for the Dow…these things all seem far away and unimportant when you wander the roads of this beautiful and right now dazzlingly green country.

Don’t these people know the world is ending…that global markets are collapsing? If they are aware, they’re unaffected. And, again, spending time among them, you can’t help but wonder if they don’t know something you don’t.

I’ve got much to tell you about what I’ve seen so far…but I’m already late for my first appointment this morning. I’ll fill you in, don’t worry, on everything, when I’m back in Panama City and have more time.

Meantime, on the drive into Granada last night, my Marketing Director Harry, in Nicaragua for the first time, wondered: “What’s the demographic of the foreigners living here now?”

“The folks who’ve chosen Nicaragua for their overseas retirement or new life abroad are adventurers,” I replied.

“They’re out-of-the-box thinkers. Nicaragua isn’t an obvious choice for someone whose primary objective is to play it safe. This country is still rugged and delightfully unpolished.”

“I think I like it better here than in Panama,” Harry responded. “There’s something romantic about this place…I can’t explain it…”

I sensed it on my first visit, too. There’s something poetic in the Nicaraguan way of life. Infatuating.

The people of this little country have lived through troubled times. But they’re not bitter or calloused. They’re warm and welcoming. Big-hearted and quick with a smile.
They’re also strong and resilient…able to take the ups and downs of day-to-day living in their stride.

In Panama City, your pulse quickens. Your heart races. You feel like you’d better get up and get moving. Do something…build something…

Here in Granada, you want to settle back and settle in. Your mind wants to slow down, and your heart wants to savor.

“I wish we could stay longer,” Harry commented this morning over breakfast. “I could imagine staying on here…”

We’ll plan a more extended visit soon. Being here again has reminded me why I fell in love with this country in the first place, more than 15 years ago.

Right now, though, unfortunately, Harry and I have a full schedule. We’ve got to resist the urge to slow down. We must push ahead…to the Laguna d’Apoyo…to the coast…then back to Managua…

Kathleen Peddicord

P.S. My waxing poetic about Nicaragua neglects the practical. Here’s the important practicality to recognize about this country: It remains a true bargain.

Twenty years ago, Mexico was truly cheap. Ten years ago, Panama was truly cheap. Today, Nicaragua is still truly cheap.

Harry and I took taxis, ate out, enjoyed our share of Flor de Cana, and made a point of stopping in shops as often as we could. Everything from shampoo, bottled water, and pineapples to electronics, duffle bags, and washing machines is cheaper in Nicaragua than in Panama and, as far as I could tell, a bargain.

Breakfast for the two of us at my favorite Granada haunt, the Alhambra Hotel, was so cheap I re-checked the bill. Two plates of eggs, bacon, and toast, plus orange juice and hot tea, for about US$5, including tax and tip. In Paris, you can’t buy two croissants and coffee for US$5…and, in Panama, for 5 bucks, you and your dining companion are eating empanadas out of a cart.

Nicaragua remains the kind of place where everything is so affordable you never have to tell yourself no. Want to dine out? Enjoy late-afternoon aperitifs on the square? Drink and dance ’til dawn? Take a taxi to Masaya or Catarina for a day at the market? Take a boat tour on the lake? Why not? Your budget, even if slight, can handle it.

I’m speaking anecdotally. Our editors have figured the cost of living in Nicaragua more formally. They say you can live well in this country on less than US$1,000 a month.

Three Reasons to Become an Expatriate

Hong Kong Disney

by Margarita Gokun Silver

Growing up I never had an opportunity to travel and see the world. I was born in a country that didn’t let its people go abroad and thus I was effectively cut off from anything that lay beyond the borders of my homeland. Naturally, as it is with all human beings, the prohibited became an fascination — and I wasn’t of, course, the only one fascinated with seeing what lie beyond. Most of my generation was just as infatuated as I was.



When I finally broke free and moved to another country, I had all the freedom in the world. I could travel, see new places, experience new things, and learn. Travel was no longer prohibited yet the fascination stayed with me. To this day I am happier when I find myself in a completely new territory with adventure, things to explore, and change to experience.

Later in life, when I learned about values, I realized that my fascination with the “abroad” was the direct result of values that I held and hold dear to this day. Values such as adventure, newness/change, learning/growth, and challenge are central to my feelings of fulfillment. And those values are the ones that I was seeking to honor when I embarked on an expatriate lifestyle.

And so here are my reasons for becoming an expatriate in no particular order:

1. Learning and Growth. Expatriate lifestyle offers you an unmatched opportunity to grow. Yes, you can read about most places in books, you can watch programs about them on TV, and you can even travel to most places for a vacation. But you’ll never learn as much about a country and its people as you learn living in their midst. So, if you have a particular hunger for learning about different places of the world, this might be a reason for you to consider becoming an expat.
2. Challenge. Surely things can be challenging anywhere, but living in another culture takes the concept of challenge to a whole other level. So, if you thrive on being challenged to the brim, if you enjoy overcoming difficulties, and if you find yourself being bored in you current place of residence, expatriate lifestyle might for you.
3. Change. Many people have trouble tolerating change, but I am certainly not one of them. I even have to move furniture around in my house in order to change something. I thrive on change — change feeds my creativity, it empowers me, and it creates possibilities. So if you feel that change is something you crave, becoming an expatriate will definitely help you find it.Read more from Margarita at the Global Coach Center blog. Thanks for permission to reprint this post, which is copyright 2009, Global Coach Center.

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We’ll look at some new releases, as well as some older ones, classic literary fiction as well as biography, mystery, science fiction — in short, anything with an expat theme.

So, without further ado, here is our first feature in the Expat Films category. Popcorn’s on you.

Star Wars: The Ultimate Expat Adventurer Movie

Star Wars: A New Hope

Star Wars an expat film? You betcha!

Our young hero, Luke Skywalker, lives on the desert planet Tatooine with his aunt and uncle. Luke’s father was killed by Darth Vader, the evil emperor’s right-hand man. . . er, borg. There’s no mention of his mother. Luke wants to leave the farm to attend the Academy, but Uncle Owen insists he has to stay for one more season.

Luke’s Uncle Owen buys two droids, R2D2 and 3CPO, to help on the farm. Unbeknownst to the family, the droids had escaped from a spaceship while it was under attack by Vader, and they’re looking for help to overthrow the Emperor.

Luke tells 3CPO that Tatooine is the planet “farthest from the bright center of the universe.”

A few scenes later, Luke has met up with Obi Wan (Ben) Kenobe, a Jedi Master who lives nearby and for whom R2D2 carries a secret message from Princess Leia. Ben invites Luke to come with him to the planet Alderan. At first, Luke refuses because, “it’s such a long way from here.” Later, after returning home and finding the farm destroyed and his aunt and uncle dead, Luke tells Ben,

“I want to come with you to Alderan. There’s nothing for me here now. . . I’m never coming back to this planet again.”

Luke, with the help of Obi Wan, Princess Leia, smuggler Han Solo and his Wookie first mate Chewbacca, ends up destroying the Empire’s most formidable weapon, the Death Star while sending Darth Vader spinning out of control in his fighter into the galaxy somewhere.

In a ceremony complete with stirring music by John Williams and some winks from Princess Leia, Luke and Han receive medals for their efforts and are fully accepted into the Rebel community.

Now, if that’s not an expat story, what is?

Do you have a favorite expat movie you’d like us to discuss? Click on the comment link below to suggest it. Add your comments, observations and ideas by clicking the comment link below.

Are You An Adventurer Expat?

You May Be an Adventurer If. . .

• You enjoy learning a foreign language just for fun
• You can’t wait to eat fried sheep’s eyeballs
• You think of swimming in shark-infested waters as a minor challenge
• You don’t want to climb Mt. Everest because it’s already been done too many times
• The thought of living in the same place for 10 years gives you nightmares and makes you break out in a cold sweat

You May Also Be an Adventurer If. . .

• The thought of living in the same place for 10 years gives you hives
• You enjoy meeting new people with backgrounds different from yours
• You’re willing to try most new foods
• You get excited about visiting a new city because there’s so much to explore
• You want to learn a foreign language because that way you can talk with more people

You’re Probably Not an Adventurer If. . .

• Your idea of fun is an evening spent poring over maps, timetables and contracts
• You avoid meeting new people
• You think living in the same place for 10 years is a good start
• You worry about running out of antibacterial hand soap
• The only words you learn in a foreign language are “bathroom,” “police” and “hospital”

So. . . do you think you’re an adventurer? Let us know by clicking the Comments link below!

What kinds of people leave hearth and home for life in another country?

Here are a few categories I’ve come up with. I’m sure that many expats fit into more than one. I know I do! Let me know if you have a category I’ve missed.

Expats By Necessity

We won’t dwell on the first group — their reasons for expatriating are obvious.

• Military Personnel sent abroad
• Workers whose employers assign them to overseas positions
• Ambassadors and similar government employees sent to represent their country in another

Cultural Expats

The next group includes those who move to another country for what I think of as cultural reasons.

• Missionaries. In this category I include, not just religious missionaries, but anyone with a “mission.” This would include Peace Corps volunteers, people who start orphanages, and the literacy volunteers who try to teach indigenous peoples how to communicate with others around them.
• Students. The student category includes the hordes of college juniors who elect to take part or all of their year abroad as part of their school’s curriculum. It also includes those who wish to immerse themselves in another language or culture. Painters, musicians, writers and other artists who travel for inspiration or to learn how other cultures view the world would also be included in the student category.

Escapists

Next we find the escapists group. These are expats characterized more by what they are getting away from than by what they are moving toward.

• Geographic escapists. These folks want to escape from cold weather to the sunny tropics, from the mountains to the ocean, or from the farms to the cities.
• Social escapists want to break loose from uncomfortable family or social ties at home (or a lack thereof!) to create a new social network elsewhere.
• Economic escapists want to leave a more expensive country for a cheaper one. Many of these are retirees who, like myself, simply can’t afford to retire comfortably in their native land and don’t want to work until they drop. There are also many economic escapists who are still of working age, but want to pursue a career or vocation they might not be able to live on at home, but could afford in a less expensive country. Idealistists who work for non-profit organizations might fit into this category. So would those who believe there is more to life than work, and who feel they can better raise a family and have time for important activities outside of work, in a country where the cost of living is lower and the pace of life is slower.

Adventurers

Although the highest peaks have already been scaled, the Amazon has been explored by westerners, and the deserts have been mapped, there are still many who move abroad because it’s an adventure. While I think there’s a bit of the adventurer in anyone who willingly pursues an expat life, there are some for whom it is the primary reason they leave their home countries.

Opportunists

And, of course, there are always opportunists in any group.

• Business people who see a need they can fill, and/or a fantastic opportunity to make huge amounts of money in another country.
• Investors in real estate, businesses or farmland.
• Tax avoiders or evaders.
• Law dodgers, people who for legal reasons leave their home country to hang out in somebody else’s and hope they won’t be caught and extradited.

If you have a job that relocates you to a different country, you are in a unique category of expats, and the issues you need to deal with and obstacles you need to overcome in moving abroad are different from mine.

I am writing this for  US or Canadian citizens like me who, for the other reasons stated above — or perhaps some reason not included in my off-the-cuff list — are making the decision on your own to leave your native land for a time. We have a lot of research to do, many decisions to make, and a multitude of tasks to complete in order to make our moves.

But let’s start at the beginning. What reason(s) do you have to consider an overseas move?